Bird cage accessory



Jan. 6, 1953 H E. sMTHsoN BIRD CAGE ACCESSORY Filed April ll, 1950 INVENTOR.

#43?? [i /v/r//aoxv Patented Jan. 6, 1953 UNITED s T-A TES i 1 BIRD CAGE ACGESSORY Harry E. Smithson, Detroit; Micka Application April ll, 1950,:SriaPNo'155g14'3I which may-:be applied to :the cage, texteriorlyrof the cage; and belowxthedoor' opening, .which will provide a :perch ;and i auxiliary floor or' platform outsidethacage.

'It fis an obj ect of; the: presentsinvention to& pro

videa-renewablesdevice:which may `ibe -attac-hed to the e'xterior of'the cage ortheadoonsill :forrholdingthe door' insits` open position;

Another :object :of a the, invention is *to provide an adjustabledevicewhich will fit various sizes of door openings and adapted to be adjusted to hold the door irfullyopenposition, that is, open to at least 90 from its closed position.

`A furtherrobject of the invention -is 'to-con struct the device of inter-engaging parts which may be assem bled and disassembled without the aid of tools or separate fastening devices.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will 'more fully appearfromthe following description taken in connectionwith the accompanying drawings in which:

"Fi'g. 1 ista'perspective *View -ofa fragmentary portion of a :bird cage, showing the improved accessory applied to the open swinging door of the cage;

Fig. 2 is a sectional View of the device, taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1, showing the supporting arm, its connection to the floor, and the means for securing a perch to the supporting arms, and

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary View similar to Fig. 2 showing a modification of the invention.

It is common practice with bird owners to permit the birds, particularly birds of the parrot family such as parakeets, to have egress and ingress to the cage and often the fbird roosts on the door sill facing inwardly of the cage and the droppings fall in undesirable places. When the cage door is opened, separate holding devices are required to hold the door in open positi-on.-

The present invention provides a device which embodies a floor extending outwardly from the cage below the door opening for catching droppings, provides a feeding shelf, provides a perch for the bird, and at the same time is adjustable to retain the door in open position.

Another advantage of the device is that it may be positioned on the outside of the cage for retaining the door in closed position when the latter is not in use. Usually cage doors are provided with spring closing means or additional latching means for retaining the `door in closed position. These, however, often become broken and it is necessary to improvise some means for 2 retaining the-door closed.- The in proved device may be appliedto the cage -over theclosed-iioor to' securely retain itin closed position.

'Rferring -to' the drawing-s, -I haveshowna con-'- is of a 'flat sheet material' such l as sheet metal preferably aluminum; v 'This sheet 'may be' of any desired-shape,herein illustrated as-'rectangular-,^ and is adapted-to be --suspended ima horizontalplane.- -At the opposite -sid'es-' of the sheet and adjacent -the rear edge -of ---thesheet,- there are stamped 'out porti onswhich `are 'formed abycutting a pair of paralll SlOts in the; metal:- and pressing they portion of material between each pair of slots'out of'` the-planeof the-sheet This provides a pair" .of late al'ly aecess-ible slotsg -bev tween the -pressed out -portionsand the 'body --of the sheet, 'for receiving prej ections i-Z carriedby thesupporting arms tas I The arms l'6 are preferably' fo'rm'ed fr'omfiat sheet :metal stock L and i the {prej ections 22 are of* -reduced width and bent atright angles to theplane of the `arms H to 'slidingly fitoneof the' grooves formed by the pressed out portion 20. The opposite ends of the arms I 6 are provided with semi-Circular cut out portions 24 in the upper edge thereof. The rear edge of each arm is provided with a hook 26 which is extended rearwardly of the arm and projects downwardly in spaced relation to the body of the arm !6. These arms I6 are formed by stamping and are identical except that the projections are bent in opposite directions so that when the arms IS are assembled to the floor !4 the projections 22 may be inserted from the outer edges with the plane of the arms |6 flush with the edges of the floor and the hooks 26 extending rearwardly.

The perch !8 is preferably made of Wood and is in the form of a rod having a length greater than outer distance between the two assembled supports !6. Circular grooves 28 and 30 are formed in the outer periphery of the perch. These grooves have a width substantially equal to the thickness of the material forming the arms IS so that the cut out portion 24 snugly ts the groove. Additional grooves 32, 34 and 35 are provided in the outer periphery of the perch,

so that the latter may be positioned in the cut out portions at various longitudinal distances. It will be noted that the groove 30 is axially spaced a greater distance from one end of the perch than the groove 32 from the opposite end 3 of the perch. The groove 36 is positioned a greater distance from one end of the perch than the grooves 32 and 28. This arrangement of grooves provides longitudinal adjustment of the perch relative to the supports so that variations in the overhang at one end of the perch may be made greater or lesser depending upon the' distance of the one support away from the swingv ing door. The perch may be positioned end for end and the proper grooves selected to hold the door in a fully open position. In connection with the above, it is to be understood that there are slight variations in the width of openings in different cages and it is desirable to have the support, away from the door, rest against a bar of cage so that it can not move laterally and at the same time have the opposite end of the perch engage a fully open door. This provides a positive stop between the remote bar of the cage opening and the door.

There is a further adjustment obtainable by providing the irregularly spaced grooves, that is, the provision of' means for varying the lateral spacing of the supports [6. Since the supports I& are slidably received in the grooves formed by the stamped out portions 20 they may be positioned inwardly or outwardly relative to each other for variations in the distance between the hooks 25. This permits the hooks 26 to be fitted between, and preferably hearing laterally against, one of the bars when 'the end of the perch !8 is in engagement'with the open door. j

In the form of the invention shown in Fig. 3, I have shown a' device for holding a sliding door in its raised position.- Pivotaily carried on the perch 18 is an arm 40, preferably formed from sheet metal which is stamped'to desired shape. One end of the arm is provided with a circular opening 42 which fits the outer periphery of the perch I8. The opposite end of the arm is notched, as at 44, to form a recess for the bottom of the sliding door z'. When the device is applied to the outside of a cage having a sliding door, the door is raised and the hooks 26 applied over the door sill. The arm 40 isthen swung upwardly and the door drops into the notch 44.

While I have illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of the invention, it Will be understood that various changes, including the size, shape and arrangement of parts, may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention and it is not my intention to limit its scope other than by the terms of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An attachment for a bird cage -comprising, a floor, vertical supports detachably received in said floor, each at the opposite sides thereof, hooks on the rear edge of said supports, the

'upper edge of said supports having a. notch,

and a perch having spaced peripheral grooves to be received in the notches of said support. V 2. An attachment for a bird cage comprising, a floor, outwardly extending portions in the body of said floor forming tab receiving portions, lateral supports having projections for engagement with the outwardly pressed portions of said floor, hooks carried by said supports, and a perch removably received on the upper edge of said supports; said perch having grooves in its outer peripheral surface adjacent the opposite ends thereof for receiving the upper edges of saidsuppoi'ts, said'grooves being spaced longitudinally at varying distances' wherebyvariations in the distance between said supports and the distance from one end of said perchto the outer surface of its adjacent 'support may be varied.

HARRY E. SMITHSON.`

REFERENCES orEj The following references are ofrecord in the ie of this patent:

UNITED STA''E PATENTS 

